Egg Coddler Recipes, Cooking and Handling Tips

Here are some recipes so that you can use your egg coddler as it was
originally intended to be used. Please do exercise some caution,
especially if you are using an older coddler, as cooking with it will
show signs of wear after a while. If you are collecting coddlers in
mint condition, you will want to acquire a few inexpensive coddlers to
use for your dining table.

Cooking

During cooking, the egg coddler should not
be totally submerged in boiling water. Stand the egg coddler in a
pan of boiling water
taking care that the water level only reaches halfway up the
body of the coddler.

Egg coddlers should not be used in a microwave oven.

Egg coddlers should not be exposed to an open flame,
nor placed directly on the burner of an electric range.

Food Safety Note. Eating undercooked eggs poses an
increased risk of contracting a food-borne illness, such as
Salmonella poisoning. Children, the elderly, and anyone with
a depressed immune system, are at high risk. Please cook your
eggs according to your own tastes, but keep in mind your health
risks as well. Also, be sure to avoid allowing cooked foods to
come into contact with surfaces or utensils that have been used to
handle raw food.

Cleaning

According to
Royal Worcester,
porcelain egg coddlers can be washed in the dishwasher. We do not
recommend this.

We recommend that coddlers be soaked in a weak solution of mild
dish soap and warm water for cleaning. Do not soak with the lid
affixed to the body of the coddler.

Do not use abrasive scouring pads, cloths, brushes, or powders
on the coddler. This may damage decorations or the glaze. If
there are stubborn residues, it is recommended that repetitive
soaking and then gentle scrubbing with a soft wash cloth be used.
A very soft toothbrush could be used, very gently, to remove
stains or residues.

Air dry the ceramic or porcelain body in a dish rack.
Towel-dry the stainless steel or metal sections carefully. Do not
apply the lid to the coddler until all parts of the lid and the
body are completely dry. Otherwise, the metal lid may fuse
to the body.

Handling

The lifting ring must never be used to tighten or loosen
the top of the coddler. The ring should be used only to lift
coddlers out of the water bath, or lower them into the water
bath. Any torque (rotational force) placed on the ring may cause
it to separatefrom the lid.

When cooking with the coddler, do not screw the lid on very
tightly. A loose turn is sufficient.

When lifting the coddler out of boiling water, do not set it
directly onto a cold heat-conductive surface (such as a
countertop, or the sink). Place the coddler on a trivet, a towel,
or other heat-insulating surface. This will avoid shattering due
to rapid temperature change. (The coddlers are designed to
withstand thermal shock ... but why take chances?).

The sooner you wash, or at least soak, the egg coddler after
the egg has been cooked in it, the less likely that there will be
difficult residue
to clean later.

When storing coddlers for extended periods of time, it is best
to keep the lid attached to the coddler as loosely as possible
... this will help avoid fusing if there is much humidity in the
air.

If coddlers are stored for long periods of time, dusting them
and inspecting them for rust spots or fusing is recommended.
Coddlers enjoy
a nice bath
occasionally, especially after a long journey or having sat for
many months on a collector's shelf.

Recipes

Recipes that call for one egg are for single coddlers, though you
can always make one egg in a double. For double coddlers, double
the recipe.

Butter the inside of the coddler and the inside of the metal lid.
(You can use a brush for this. You can also use margarine, or a
non-caloric non-stick spray such as Pam if you are trying
to cut out the butter).

Cut the ham into fine strips and line the inside of the coddler
with the ham strips.

Break the egg into the coddler, season with salt and pepper.
(If you have bad luck breaking eggs without the shells, break the
egg into a small bowl, inspect for shells, then pour the broken
egg into the coddler).

Screw on the lid and stand the coddler in a pan of boiling water,
taking care that the water level only reaches
halfway up
the porcelain body.

Simmer for 7 to 8 minutes.

Remove the coddler from the water using the end of a fork/spoon
through the lifting ring. Alternatively, you could lift using
oven mitts or other heat-proof gloves.

Set the coddler on a towel, or trivet ... not on a cold
heat-conductive surface, such as a counter top. Using a towel and
holding the lid by the rim, not by the lifting ring,
twist the lid to loosen it.

Serve at the table in the coddler.

Editor's Note:
We've embellished this recipe with some additional hints that are not
from the original
Royal Worcester
pamphlet. Many of these embellishments and detailled
handling
tips will not be repeated in subsequent recipes.

Break one or two eggs (according to size of the coddler) into the
cup, and season to taste with pepper and salt.

Screw on the lid (grasping the whole top -- do not use lifting
-- ring alone).

Stand the egg coddler up to its neck in a pan of boiling water
and simmer for time stated.

Lift from pan and serve.

Small size Wedgwood egg coddler:

One large egg - 5½ minutes
One medium egg - 5 minutes

Large size Wedgwood egg coddler:

Two large eggs - 8½ minutes
Two medium eggs - 6½ minutes

There are many ingredients which can be added to the eggs in the
coddler to make an unusual and delectable dish, demanding very little
extra time in preparing. Try chopped chervil, chives and cream. Flaked
crab, shrimp or tuna fish. Lightly sauteed chopped chicken
liver. Gruyere, or a soft cheese, with chopped onion and mushroom. Or
smoked sausage. When using raw ingredients a two minute longer cooking
time in the coddler may be preferred.

Editor's Note:Wedgwood
recommends submerging their coddler to its neck, while
Royal Worcester
explicitly implores you to never submerge the coddler beyond the
middle of its belly. Their timings are also rather different. Our
suspicion is that your coddler will last much longer if you follow the
Royal Worcester directions, but your breakfast will be ready faster
if you follow the Wedgwood directions. Ultimately, you must decide
upon your priorities, as well as how well-coddled you like your
eggs.

Coddled Eggs a la Mexicana

This recipe was contributed by Peter Young:

For a totally new twist on an old tradition:
Add a few pieces of cooked chorizo and some diced serrano peppers
to eggs in a buttered coddler and cook as usual. Very nice.

Michael Carroll's Recipes, Tips, and Comments about Coddling Eggs

First, some comments:
I have had three types of egg coddlers:

Royal Worcester in both single and double-egg sizes.

A nameless white porcelain that holds about a half-tablespoon
more contents than the large Royal Worcester.

A wider and flatter two egg glass cup with spring clamp for
the lid - holding about as much as the large Royal Worcester.

The Royal Worcester is incomparable. We purchased ours in England
over 35 years ago, and used them on a fairly regular basis (once a
fortnight). The lid is as shiny as ever. The stainless steel
threadtop on the porcelain cup is still securely bound. The
porcelain looks new. These cups have been submitted to stress of
many kinds. They have been washed in dishwashers. They have been
filled to the brim during cooking (I recommend leaving some air
space so the screw threadtop does not separate from the cup). I
have always used a fork with gentle tension to remove the cap from
the cup and the metal ring has in no way been weakened or bent.

The nameless white porcelain cup has a couple of serious flaws.
While the porcelain itself is sturdy and has shown no signs of
wear nor has any ever broken, the stainless steel is cheap, and
the lid tends to rust despite being given the best of care (I
recommend a thin coat of cooking oil to be applied after washing
and drying). Worse the threadtop is not well bound to the cup.
Over-filling will result in the top being pushed off from within
by heat expansion of the ingredients. Moreover, the seal is not
uniform, and once the ring is pushed off, a distasteful mass of
debris is revealed that had previously penetrated the seal into
the ring in the cup side of the ring. Once the user realizes that
this debris was constantly in touching distance of the contents of
the cup, it tends to be rather offputting. On the plus-side, the
slightly larger cup allows for many more interesting recipes than
the rather limited large cup of the Royal Worcester. The few
recipes I mention below can be accomodated in the large Royal
Worcester cups by removing about 1-2 teaspoons of egg white.

The glass cups with spring clamp are never going to be the same
kind of collector's item, but they have a few good things going
for them: There is no bound construction. Since the lid is
clamped on the cup by an external (somewhat ornate) spring clamp
(easily applied or removed in about two seconds), there is no
worry about the binding of the threadring to the cup or any
materials being caught in that space.
Springing is an absolute breeze. There are no tiny recesses to
contain food bits, and the clear cup is easy to check for
clingers. Cooking times are virtually identical with that of the
porcelain cups.

The only other minus is that removing the spring and lid from a
hot cup is a bit more challenging than with the traditional
porcelain. The lid has nothing with which to grip it, so one
must use a potholder or towel rather than the tines of a fork
that work so well with the porcelain versions.

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice. Exquisite.
(Basically, a way to emulate the taste of Hollandaise sauce when
used in tandem with cream or sour cream, without adding a
tablespoon of butter per egg. In a dish with already more
cholesterol than decent, this can be a real benefit). If you want
the lemon to stand out for piquancy, try up to 1 teaspoon of the
juice.

Instead of the lemon, try chopped fresh tomato bits, in
tandem or not with the cream or sour cream. Distinctive and
reminiscent of huevos rancheros, southwest style. You can even
combine tomato and lemon for a dish as citric as it is
eggy!

For those inclined to spicy: minced pieces of canned or
frozen hot green chile (thousand times better than the insipid
powdered red chile, which comes from dried, powdered green chiles
that have been allowed to redden). Be sure to wash hands well
after handling the chile -- I use baking power.

Note: I sometimes top off the contents with milk (but not
if I am adding lemon or anything citric, in which case I sometimes
add white wine). My goal is to leave sufficient space for air to
absorb the expansion of the ingredients -- a truly important
factor if you are using any porcelain other than Royal
Worcester.

Seal cup, place in boiling water almost up to the bottom of the
lid and cook between a simmer and a boil for 12 minutes (this is
at high altitudes -- lower altitudes can probably do with a lesser
temperature). The resulting egg should consist of a mostly runny
yolk, a white that is partially runny, but not clear (with some
little exception). You will need to figure out your time for
yourself, and should rely on this time of yours because once you
begin adding liquids, you will not be able to tell by examination
if the egg is cooked properly until you remove it from the cup.

Service: Coddled eggs can be served right in their cups, but I
almost never do that. My first choice by far are English muffins
toasted crisp. The dryness of toast makes it absorbent of all the
wonderful flavors of the egg mixture. Why waste anything?
Moreover, coddled eggs slip all too fast into the digestive system
-- muffins or toast extend them long enough to be truly
appreciated.

In addition, I like to place on each muffin any of the following:

cooked bacon

cooked ham

ground sausage, but not enough to dominate the eggs subtlety.

Some Recipe Suggestions from Susan

In addition to the more obvious additions of crumbled bacon, ham
and mild grated cheese, for variety try instead a few flakes of
previously cooked mild white fish (ie: leftover poached or
steamed or baked from the prior night's meal). Put flaked fish in
first if you're using a single egg or layer fish between two
small eggs. If wished season with salt & pepper, poultry
seasoning or even a light touch of tobasco. A few buttered bread
crumbs on top is good assuming you don't mind moist crumbs. Add a
dash of paprika before screwing the top closed or just before
serving. (DON'T use regular pepper if you use paprika. The two
do not work well together.)

We also have used flaked salmon (canned or the hot smoke variety)
which some may find too strong, and at other times salmon pate.
Shreaded lox (cold smoke style salmon) probably would be
interesting too.

Serve with a parsely sprig and thin curl of lemon rind or thin
slice of lemon. We haven't tried it but a really up-scale
garnish of caviar (black or red we recently discovered salmon
caviar which is yellow-orange and has a good flavor) likely would
work too.

Mix and match flavors as suits you.

Lorin McCleary's Egg Coddler Recipe

For an interesting taste additon to coddled eggs, add come
crumbled feta cheese, a few capers and a bit of dill to the egg in
the coddler before cooking. This is a favorite of ours.

From Antonia

I actually got these recipes out of the October 2000 issue of
Antiques & Collecting magazine. It talks about egg coddlers from
a collecting point of view.

Oeuf aux Fines Herbes

1 tbs chopped parsley

1 tbs chopped chives

salt and pepper

Butter inside and lid. Beat up the egg with parsley and chives.
Season with salt and pepper. Pour into coddler. Screw on lid and
stand in boiling water up to its neck. Simmer 7-8 minutes until
cooked. (That was too runny for me I left it in the water for
12-15 mins. Still soft but more palatable to me.)

Butter inside and lid. Cut cheese into 1/2" cubes and put into
coddler. Pour Kirsch over mixture and season. Simmer 4 mins or
until cheese is soft. Good served with breadsticks or cubes of
bread.

Recipes from a Generic Egg Coddler

These recipes were included in a package of
generic (cheap) egg coddlers.
The coddlers are double-sized, so I'd assume that these recipes
work for any double-sized coddlers.

Coddled Eggs

Grease the inside of the coddler with a small knob of butter.
Break two eggs into the egg coddler and screw on the
lid. Bring a pan of water to a gentle boil, place coddlers in
the water and cook for 8-10 minutes. Serve in the coddler.

Cheese Souffle Omelette

Half ounce of butter

One egg

One ounce of grated cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Place butter in egg coddler and stand in hot water. Separate
yolk from white of egg, beat white until stiff. Beat egg yolk,
add cheese and seasoning to yolk, fold in the white. Pour mixture
into coddler and screw on lid. Stand in pan of water and simmer
until set -- approximately 15-20 minutes. Serve in
coddler.

Editor's Note: I don't think the water should be boiling, if they
are talking about 15-20 minutes cooking time. I haven't tried
this.